COVINGTON -- Voters who want to avoid long lines on election day have today and Friday to cast their ballot early.

Early voting at the Newton County Board of Elections office wraps up at 5 p.m. Friday. By law, early voting cannot take place the Monday before the general election.

So far, more than 6,000 Newton County residents have cast absentee and early voting ballots, according to the Board of Elections office. As of Wednesday morning, 5,241 people had cast in-office ballots. A total of 1,347 absentee ballots have been mailed out, with 816 returned. There are 54,262 active registered voters in Newton County.

Officials with the Board of Elections said turnout has been too unpredictable of late to estimate turnout on Tuesday.

Throughout the state, nearly 350,000 Georgians had voted as of Saturday, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Nearly twice the number of voters headed to the polls last week than the previous week. Nearly 5.8 million Georgians are registered to vote.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voters are required to bring photo identification.

Voters can visit www.sos.ga.gov/mvp to confirm voter registration, print a sample ballot, look up statewide amendments and the statewide referendum. Voters can also contact the Board of Elections office at 770-784-2055 with questions.

Locally, the race for Board of Commissioners District 2, will be decided, with Republican Ricky Corley facing Democrat Lanier Sims.

The District 4 race was decided in the July 20 primary, when incumbent J.C. Henderson bested Republican rival Kenneth Hardeman.

The Board of Education District 3 race, pitting Republican Kevin Wade against Democrat Shakila Henderson-Baker, will also be decided, along with the District 5 race, where Republican Abigail Morgan Coggin will face Democrat Sharon Sawyer. Republican Jeff Meadors secured the District 1 seat in the primary runoff.

Also on the ballot are the races for state Senate District 17; House District 95; Congressional districts 7 and 8; and the statewide races for governor; lieutenant governor; secretary of state; attorney general; state school superintendent; U.S. senator; and public service commissioner.